Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Teen girl helps a tough, retired racehorse named Eliot find a second career off the track

A "beware of the horse" sign hangs on the gate in front of Lee County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Aaron Eubanks's home in Naples on Friday, January 10, 2020. Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News/USA TODAY - FLORIDA NETWORK

Lee County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Aaron Eubanks pets Eliot, who is now called Maverick, at his home in Naples on Friday, January 10, 2020. Eubanks has been riding horses since he was 12. Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News/USA TODAY - FLORIDA NETWORK

Lee County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Aaron Eubanks puts his face through an opening on the side of the trailer as he talks to Maverick at his home in Naples on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News/USA TODAY - FLORIDA NETWORK

Lee County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Aaron Eubanks and Deputy Ted Schafer ride Maverick and Argus down the road next to traffic to get them ready for the Edison Parade in February in Naples on Friday, January 10, 2020. Alex Driehaus/Naples Daily News/USA TODAY - FLORIDA NETWORK

When Eliot came to Track to Trail in North Naples, he was fierce and feared. The retired racehorse bit everyone who tried to help him. He was labeled a bully. Orange cones were put in front of his stall to warn people to stay away.

But none of that stopped 14-year-old Chrissy Parisi from helping him — and giving Eliot a chance at a second career off the track.

“We try to pair them with the easier horses,” Gilbert said. “He was a lot to handle. He was a really big horse with a lot of attitude. I said, ‘All the other kids will be able to advance much quicker than you. If you pick the project, you need to stick with it,' and she said, 'Absolutely.’”

So Chrissy, who is 4 feet 10 inches tall, began working with the 17 hands tall (5.8 feet), 1,200 pound horse that came to Track to Trail in early 2018.

“Sometimes it was scary having something three times my size,” Chrissy said. “He was the biggest horse.”

Gilbert said she could not leave Chrissy alone with Eliot for her first two sessions with the horse.

“He was really tough. She was really determined," Gilbert said. "There were ups and downs. It was really a challenge.”

While the other children in the program were quickly riding their horses, Chrissy had to start with very small steps.

“Just scratching his belly,” she said. “We would do ground work, I would tap the whip on the ground and tell him to walk, trot, canter. It’s connecting.”

Eliot started to connect. But there were setbacks. One day Chrissy lifted her arms to put a halter on Eliot, and he bit her chest.

“The day he bit her was the day she didn’t want to come back, and then she came back the next day,” said Chrissy’s mother, Mary Anna Parisi.

“The day he bit her was the day she didn’t want to come back, and then she came back the next day.”

Chrissy’s mother, Mary Anna Parisi

Eliot continued to try to bite Chrissy. Parisi was afraid for her daughter and wanted her to quit. But Chrissy persisted.

“He would try to bully her,” Gilbert said.

Chrissy said she learned to stand tall and show Eliot that there were boundaries. She used lots of praise when Eliot did something right, and learned to redirect when he did something wrong.

“She really made a lot of inroads,” Gilbert said. “He started to see her in a different light. That is where you end up with a really safe horse, when you have a great partner.”

At left, Mizzen Quality, a thoroughbred horse also called Mickey, is greeted by Maluj, center, and Cloud, right, both Arabian horses inside a pen during a socialization training, June 26, 2019, at Track to Trail Inc. in North Naples. Jon Austria/Naples Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

Summer camp participants at Track to Trail Inc. work with Cloud during a training exercise that helps the rescue horse become more sociable around people, June 26, 2109, in North Naples. Jon Austria/Naples Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

Track to Trail is a volunteer organization that rehabilitates injured race horses, mostly from Gulfstream Park, a track and casino near Miami. Eliot, whose racing name was Track Shill, won his first race and then fractured his ankle during a training session. After the horses are rehabilitated they go to new homes in Lee or Collier counties.

“It was horrible. I just started crying, but I was so proud of him,” Chrissy said as she described sending Eliot to his new home.

“It’s tough when they leave,” Gilbert added. “But Eliot would not have been there unless we had adopted out a horse before him. That is the cycle of helping. That is what our organization is all about.”

Eliot was purchased by Cpl. Aaron Eubanks, who uses his horse with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Eubanks gave Eliot a new name, Maverick, and says his new horse is perfect for crowd control and official ceremonies.

“He has a real good attitude,” Eubanks said. “He seems to pick up stuff really quick. Stuff that he is not used to he will spook at it, but give him a couple of minutes and he is OK.”

Maverick, now 5, recently participated in a multi-agency crowd control training session.

“It was a riot control training,” Eubanks said. “I honestly thought when I took him there that he would be scared. He was actually moving crowds like he was trained to do it. He wasn’t scared a bit of all the noise. He just moved the crowd and got out like he was supposed to.”

Maverick also recently took part in an honor guard ceremony.

“We got him out there and we presented the colors and he stood there the whole time,” Eubanks said. “He did perfect through the whole detail.”

Chrissy, a freshman at Barron Collier High School, now has another horse to train.

“Teddy, he’s a little sassy,” she said. “But he’s not as tough as Eliot.”

CLOSE

You may have heard horses nap while standing (true), but not all the time. See adorable pics of them getting some deep sleep.
Buzz60